DisplayPro Alt Mode 2.0 Released – USB 4 Tech With Support For 16K Displays

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) announced today that the ultra-high bandwidth DisplayPro Alt Mode 2.0 standard has been made available to computer manufacturers today, and they expect the first tablets and computers to roll out with this new display technology in 2021.

This means that it's USB 4.0 operational with full DisplayPort 2.0 feature support. That provides us with a USB C connection that can transmit up to 80 GB/s of DisplayPort video on four high-speed lanes in the cable, or up to 40 GB/s on what is called SuperSpeed USB.

So this enables delivery of up to 16K video (15360 x 8460) at 60 Hz display through a USB-C 4.0 connection, which makes it very future proof for a long time to come.

The symbol on tablets and smartphones for VESA certified DisplayPort Alt Mode support, is the new DP symbol seen in this image, though as VESA says, we'll probably still have to wait until 2021 to see any new tablets launch with DisplayPro Alt Mode 2.0, which means we might see some serious GPU's on a select few flagship tablets next year too.

VESA Certified DisplayPort DisplayPro Alt Mode 2.0
The new DP symbol for a VESA Certified DisplayPort

– Tom Bowen